GIBBS CADIZ

Whitney could've been in Dreamgirls

2012-02-13T01:27:00.005+08:00

The original Broadway production, that is--but for her lack of dancing skills. In a sensational piece of trivia in Broadway Musicals: The 101 Greatest Shows of All Time, authors Ken Bloom and Frank Vlastnik wrote:

"During casting of the original production [of 'Dreamgirls'], a young singer auditioned for the ensemble and, though her singing was extraordinary, her inadequate dancing skills caused Michael Bennett to reject her. Her name? Whitney Houston."

Set aside the lithe frame and imagine her as Effie White. Shiver-inducing. In fact, in her early years Whitney sang I Am Changing a lot. Her first major appearance on US television, as a 19-year-old being presented to the world by record mogul Clive Davis on The Merv Griffin Show in 1985, also saw her dipping into the Broadway songbook with a rendition of Home, from The Wiz.

But The Great White Way's loss was the pop world's immeasurable gain. I'd like to remember this gloriously voiced woman from her early years, when she made hit after hit after incredible hit and seemed about as beautiful at the end of the day as her miraculous vocals ("If the voice is a musical instrument," Time magazine declared, "hers is a Stradivarius.")

I don't think anybody--anybody--can ever sing Didn't We Almost Have It All?, for instance (my favorite Whitney song), and not suffer in comparison. That-force-of-nature performance is indelible, definitive, sui generis--intimate and majestic all at once. When she sang it, she was still only on her second album, and the halcyon peak of I Will Always Love You was still a few years away. Yet she already seemed legend material, or at least on a full sprint to it--especially when she could take something like the Star-Spangled Banner, which had been covered by literally hundreds of gifted artists before her, and give what many now consider the greatest rendition of it ever sung:

I was in high school when All At Once first rode the Pinoy radio airwaves, followed successively by You Give Good Love, Saving All My Love For You, The Greatest Love of All, How Will I Know, I Wanna Dance With Somebody, Where Do Broken Hearts Go, All The Man That I Need, etc. This was the late '80s, when Madonna and Michael Jackson were the Queen and King of Pop (she still IS--and as a beki friend tweeted, with Whitney, Amy and Etta gone, Madge's health is now our collective concern), and New Wave was all the rage. But, like her aunt Dionne Warwick who had charted her own unique pop sound in the '60s-'70s in the midst of that era's rock n' roll explosion, Whitney's glistening power ballads also defined a genre all her own in the crazy-quilt pop repertoire of the '80s.

Let's face it, without Whitney, Regine Velasquez, for one, wouldn't be where she is today. For those who saw it live or on TV, the most memorable moment in the first-ever major concert of Regine's career (Narito Ako at the Araneta Coliseum) was the Songbird tearing into The Greatest Love of All midway into the show, and breaking into copious tears when the overflow crowd gave her a raucous standing ovation. (I still have this concert on betamax tape--I just had it checked for possible digitizing, sana ma-save pa.)

But, of course, nothing beats the original. You're reminded of that today, when news of Whitney's passing jolts you into sadness, sets your brain on a day-long loop of her peerless ballads, and, well, prods you into excavating that delicious tidbit you had read some years ago, about how she could have been in Dreamgirls, but for her two left feet. Then again, thank God for that.

PLUS: More favorite Whitney--

At the Soul Train Music awards, subbing for Gladys Knight and making the part her own with those strikingly youthful, supple pipes, in the company of titans Luther Vandross, Stevie Wonder and Dionne Warwick. I'm sorry, but they don't make singers like these anymore.

A medley of Didn't We Almost Have It All, A House Is Not a Home and Where Do Broken Hearts Go?, sung in a concert held aboard a US aircraft carrier just back from the Gulf War. Whitney at her most breathtaking.

One Moment in Time--her opening number at the 1988 Grammys, prefaced by video clips of triumphant US athletes at the Seoul Olympics. When this number was included in the compilation Grammy's Greatest Moments, the video was altered to feature Grammy winners through the years instead. Whitney's turn, though, needed no altering--the diva in top voice, looking like a million bucks, the audience worshipping at her feet, the number a virtual classic by its heavens-storming end.

You will be missed, Ms. Houston.

Mamma Mia! Dig in this Dancing Queen!

2012-02-09T00:49:00.002+08:00

It's Lea sampling the classic ABBA song during her The Broadway Concert, by way of segueing into another Benny Andersson-Björn Ulvaeus melody, Someone Else's Story from Chess. The latter song made it to the DVD release, but not the (seemingly impromptu) Dancing Queen bit. Well, here it is--from my digitized VHS copy of the concert's TV broadcast. Consider this Outtake #2 from that show (#1 is here). There's one more, and it's the most special. Wait for it!

Speaking of Mamma Mia!--it's been extended until February 19, 2012. Weekday rates range from P750 to P6000, while weekend matinees are at P1000-P7000. It's a perfectly enjoyable and perfectly innocuous show, thanks largely to those indestructible ABBA songs and the brio of Phyllida Lloyd's staging (the dancing is superb). Irritating, though, what the usual media shills mindlessly lift from their indispensable presskits--that the cast gives "a heart-stopping performance" (check out how many times this line has graced pictures and stories of the show in the local papers). Giddy producers you can excuse--they need to sell their show. But the country's social chroniclers? It's their vapidity that's heartburn-inducing. There's nothing heart-stopping about Mamma Mia!, unless you mean the gorgeous male cast stripping to their short shorts now and then (but that's just me and my kapatids). The show is bright and fizzy and fun enough, thank you, and, yes, worth a trip to the CCP. It--and we--can do without the puffery.

Books for sale--update

2012-02-08T23:31:00.000+08:00

Only three titles left! Any takers? Holler please at gibbs_c@yahoo.com or my FB page if we're friends there. To get the books, you may drop by the Inquirer office on weekdays after 5 p.m., kindly just let me know beforehand via e-mail.

P100 each
• SHOCKWAVE: COUNTDOWN TO HIROSHIMA, by Stephen Walker
• FAST FOOD NATION: THE DARK SIDE OF THE ALL-AMERICAN MEAL, by Eric Schlosser
• STOLEN CONTINENTS: THE 'NEW WORLD' THROUGH INDIAN EYES, by Ronald Wright

Sipat Lawin Ensemble's Battalia Royale, opening Feb. 21, fuses theater and live-action game

2012-02-08T22:42:00.002+08:00

What happens when you gather 40 young high school students to outwit, outplay, and outlast one another in order to survive?

Sipat Lawin Ensemble collaborates with Australian playwrights David Finnigan, Jordan Prosser, Sam Burns-Warr, and Georgie McAuley on "Battalia Royale", a live-action game and a loose adaptation of Koushun Takami's 2001 novel, "Battle Royale." The show runs Feb. 21-23, 2012, 7:30 p.m. at the CCP Promenade. All performances are open to the public, with pay-what-you-can rates.

A controversial and hugely popular text, "Battle Royale" has since been produced as a film and a manga series. Sipat Lawin's production is the first loose stage adaptation of Takami's novel.

The story follows a class of 15-year-old high school students who leave on a school trip but are kidnapped, then forced into a deadly game. The rules: kill each other or die.This suspenseful, action-packed piece is made up of a cast of 40 seasoned performers. No fourth wall here, as the audience is made part of their deadly game, making "Battalia Royale" perhaps the most exciting theater experience this season.

Bodjie Pascua guest-stars as class adviser and head game master. The students are played by graduates of Philippine High School for the arts.

Other guest performers include Tanghalang Pilipino actor Marco Viana, university theater student players from Mapua Tekno Teatro, Dulaang Perpetual, and YouTube teen icon Kevin Vitug.

Award-winning sound designer and composer Teresa Barrozo and prolific jazz rock band Radioactive Sago Project take care of the sounds and music.

Known as an open-to-the-public, outdoor theater company, the Sipat Lawin Ensemble aims to bring theater performance outside the theater’s traditional four walls.

"Battalia Royale" is presented by Sipat Lawin Ensemble and the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Co-presented by the National University, and Pepe & the Polygons.

For show buying, sponsorships, inquiries, and other information, call SLE 0917-5008753 or (02)964-5949 or e-mail sipatlawin.ensemble@gmail.com. Like Battalia Royale’s community page on Facebook to get live updates on the show’s progress. Follow on Twitter (@SipatLawin) and Facebook (Sipat Lawin Ensemble), and subscribe to youtube.com/sipatlawin.

UP Los Banos' SamaSining stages Articulo Mortis

2012-02-08T22:28:00.000+08:00

The University of the Philippines Los Baños' SamaSining--the laboratory arm of the Department of Humanities--and the Theatre Communication Class will stage Eljay Deldoc’s "Articulo Mortis" at the DL Umali Auditorium on February 15, 7 p.m., February 16, 7 p.m., February 17, 3 p.m. and 7 p.m., and February 18, 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., as part of Tanghal, the first Southern Tagalog Arts Festival.

Directed by Ron Biñas, "Articulo Mortis" is a new play that that attempts to look at the phenomenon of death. Five different stories of five different people explore the two sides to this experience: the side where we live and the side where we are supposed to continue living in some form.

The story is an interweaving of five women’s perspectives of their death, or their experience of crossing the light. Vera, Sol, Isabel, Katha and Rita grapple with whether to accept their demise or plead for another chance.

Tickets are sold at P200 each. For inquiries, contact Queenie Balita 0916-2869817 or e-mail aritculomortis.uplb@yahoo.com.

Books for sale

2012-02-06T01:26:00.003+08:00

Twenty-five titles, all non-fiction--roughly my reading list for the last year and a half or so. They're effectively at 50-60 percent off their original prices, and in good to very good condition (I'm OC when it comes to my books). Interested? Please holler at gibbs_c@yahoo.com or my FB page if we're friends there (I posted the photo earlier on my wall--the titles in red have been reserved). I'll throw in one free--Robert D. Kaplan's Balkan Ghosts: A Journey Through History--for anyone who buys the most number of titles. To get the books, you may drop by the Inquirer office on weekdays after 5 p.m., kindly just let me know beforehand via e-mail. Going, going...

P100 each
• TUTANKHAMUN: THE UNTOLD STORY, by Thomas Hoving
• THE BEST AMERICAN CRIME WRITING 2005, edited by Otto Penzler & Thomas H. Cook, introduction by James Ellroy
• SEX WITH KINGS: FIVE HUNDRED YEARS OF ADULTERY, POWER, RIVALRY AND REVENGE, by Eleanor Herman
• CLEVER MAIDS: THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE GRIMM FAIRY TALES, by Valerie Paradiz
• SHOW AND TELL: NEW YORKER PROFILES, by John Lahr
• VAMPIRE FORENSICS: UNCOVERING THE ORIGINS OF AN ENDURING LEGEND, by Mark Collins Jenkins
• SHOCKWAVE: COUNTDOWN TO HIROSHIMA, by Stephen Walker
• FAST FOOD NATION: THE DARK SIDE OF THE ALL-AMERICAN MEAL, by Eric Schlosser
• IMAGINARY HOMELANDS: ESSAYS AND CRITICISM 1981-1991, by Salman Rushdie
• NEVER COMING TO A THEATER NEAR YOU: A CELEBRATION OF A CERTAIN KIND OF MOVIE, by Kenneth Turan
• THE GREAT MORTALITY: AN INTIMATE HISTORY OF THE BLACK DEATH, THE MOST DEVASTATING PLAGUE OF ALL TIME, by John Kelly
• PRISONER OF THE VATICAN: THE POPES, THE KINGS, AND GARIBALDI'S REBELS IN THE STRUGGLE TO RULE MODERN ITALY, by David I. Kertzer
• THE BUREAU AND THE MOLE: THE UNMASKING OF ROBERT PHILIP HANSSEN, THE MOST DANGEROUS DOUBLE AGENT IN FBI HISTORY, by David A. Vise
• ARTHUR MILLER: HIS LIFE AND WORK, by Martin Gottfried
• STOLEN CONTINENTS: THE 'NEW WORLD' THROUGH INDIAN EYES, by Ronald Wright

P75 each
• STIFF: THE CURIOUS LIVES OF HUMAN CADAVERS, by Mary Roach
• THE RUSSIAN CENTURY: A HISTORY OF THE LAST HUNDRED YEARS, Brian Moynahan
• CRIMES, TRIALS, AND PUNISHMENTS, by Dominick Dunne
• PETAIN'S CRIME: THE FULL STORY OF FRENCH COLLABORATION IN THE HOLOCAUST, by Paul Webster
• MAO ZEDONG: A LIFE, by Jonathan Spence
• BETRAYAL: THE CRISIS IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, by the Investigative Staff of The Boston Globe
• SPACE RACE: THE EPIC BATTLE BETWEEN AMERICA AND THE SOVIET UNION FOR DOMINION OF SPACE, by Deborah Cadbury
• VENGEANCE: THE TRUE STORY OF AN ISRAELI COUNTER-TERRORISM TEAM, by George Jonas
• THE FIRST ELIZABETH, by Carolly Erickson

PETA's Shakespeare offerings this February

2012-02-03T21:54:00.000+08:00

William Shakespeare has written a hundred sonnets and plays about the irony, tragedy, and splendor of love. He wrote about love from all angles, encompassing all ages, status and cultures. He has looked at love from a perspective of a desperate lover, an aging father or a loyal servant.

This love month of February, Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) has three Shakespeare offerings for all love moods and persuasions.

"Thee Na Natuto: A Sonnets Concert for the Lovesick" is a musical experience that transforms Shakespeare's sonnets into Filipino songs featuring 12 Filipino poets translating the verses (National Artist for Literature Bienvenido Lumbera, Pete Lacaba, Joi Barrios, Luna Sicat-Cleto and many more), as well as several artist-musicians (with the likes of Noel Cabangon, Vince de Jesus and DJ Myke) composing and performing the tunes.

The sonnets concert will happen on the nights of February 22, 29 and March 7, 2012 at the PETA Theater Center Studios.

PETA's contemporary adaptation of William Shakespeare's evocative masterpiece, "King Lear", is now on its second weekend. National Artist for Literature Bienvenido Lumbera translates the text into prose while retaining the rhythm, texture and elegant brutality of Shakespeare's tragedy.

Acclaimed theater director Nonon Padilla then turns the epic classic into a modern-dress contemporary family drama, while World Stage Design awardee Gino Gonzales establishes the dark aesthetic, settings and styles of the play.

"Haring Lear" features a traditional Shakespeare all-male cast helmed by theater stalwart Teroy Guzman who plays the role of the aging monarch, Haring Lear. The play runs every Friday (7 p.m.) Saturday and Sunday (10 a.m./3 p.m.) from January 27-March 4 at The PETA Theater Center. "Haring Lear" is produced by PETA in partnership with the British Council and National Commission for Culture and the Arts.

For children, UK theater artist Tim Crouch re-imagines "Twelfth Night" through the eyes of Shakespeare's most pent-up steward. "I, Malvolio" is a wild, hilarious and unsettling rant from a man adrift in front of a cruel audience, a man notoriously abused.

In this story of bullying and practical jokes, Malvolio enters the madness of Shakespeare's comedy and makes it his own. A story of lost dignity, prudery, practical jokes and bullying, this one-man act of storytelling alchemy draws us deep into the madness of Shakespeare's classic comedy.

Tim Crouch's latest play, "I, Malvolio" premiered at the Brighton Festival last May 2010, and will be in Manila by the second week of February as a joint project of PETA and the British Council.

Whether you are young lovers like Romeo and Juliet, or someone suffering unrequited love like Helena and Demetrius in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" or a love fool like Malvolio, there's something for you at PETA this February.

For tickets, contact 7256244, 4100821 to 22, 0917-5765400, petatheater@gmail.com or www.petatheater.com.

Ateneo Blue Repertory brings back Bare: A Pop Opera, opening Feb. 29

2012-02-03T20:30:00.020+08:00

The Ateneo Blue Repertory of the Loyola Schools Performing Arts Cluster brings back “Bare: A Pop Opera”--the Off-Broadway musical about two boys at a Catholic boarding school who fall in love.

First staged in a 2009, the original BlueRep production had a sold-out three-week run at Ateneo's Gonzaga Hall. This year, the musical opens February 29, 2012, 8 p.m., at Teatrino in The Promenade, Greenhills, San Juan. Succeeding play dates are March 1-3 and March 7-10 with gala shows on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., and matinee shows on Saturdays at 3:00 p.m.

“Bare” centers on a group of high school seniors at a Catholic boarding school who face issues of sexuality and personal identity. among them Peter, an altar boy, and Jason, the school’s golden kid, between whom a clandestine romance develops.

With book, music and lyrics by Jon Hartmere Jr. and Damon Intrabartolo, “Bare” first ran at the Hudson Theatre in Los Angeles, California from October 2000 to February 25, 2001. Its New York production at the American Theatre of Actors, off-Broadway, ran April 19-May 27, 2004. The Los Angeles production and the New York production were both directed by Kristin Hanggi.

Ateneo BlueRep's “Bare” features Jaime Barcelon as Jason. He recently appeared in Atlantis Productions’ “The Little Mermaid”, Repertory Philippines' “Little Women” and Upstart Productions' touring show of “Much Ado About Nothing.” He was an original member of The Ryan Cayabyab Singers, and has launched a solo album called “Lead Me to Love” under Universal Records.

Bibo Reyes will reprise the role of Peter. Bibo is a senior BFA Information Design student at the Ateneo de Manila University. He was recently seen in Atlantis Productions’ “In The Heights”, and was in a number of BlueRep shows such as “Hair”, “All Shook Up” and “Zanna, Don't!”

The ensemble includes Maronne Cruz, Cassie Manalastas, Orange Sanchez, Franco Chan, Mark Bernardo, Jussy Peña, Mikah Franco, Mica Fajardo, Raisa Tabusalla, Jian Kho, Gabriel Perez, Lara Antonio, Luigi Du, CJ Francisco, Bernice Reyes and Dar Uy.

Veteran actors Jenny Jamora and Rem Zamora will also be back to reprise their roles from the original run. And Ana Abad Santos once again directs.

The artistic and creative team includes Onyl Torres (musical director for vocals), Abi Sulit (assistant musical director for Vocals), Joseph Tolentino (musical director for band), Carlon Matobato (choreography), Leeroy New (set design), John Batalla (lights design and technical director), Jethro Joaquin (sound design) and Raven Ong (costume designer).

The marketing, sales and publicity of “Bare” is led by Toots Tolentino (PR & publicity) with Gala Sanchez, Aldrich Alcantara and Luis Marcelo (promotions and marketing) and Jojit Lorenzo (photography).

For tickets, inquiries and other information, call Chiz Jardin 0916-5787618 or email nicojardin12@yahoo.com. For show buying, call Luis Marcelo 0917-5025847.

Subscribe to www.facebook.com/bluerepbare and www.facebook.com/blueREPERTORY. Follow @_blueREPERTORY on Twitter.

“Bare: A Pop Opera” is presented by special arrangement with, and all authorized performance materials supplied by, Theatrical Rights Worldwide, 570 Seventh Avenue, Suite 2100, New York, NY 10018. www.theatricalrights.com.

For Valentine month--classic Martin-Pops

2012-01-31T03:44:00.001+08:00

Lookie what I found while I had my old stash of VHS tapes digitized: a clip of Martin Nievera and Pops Fernandez when they were still Martin-Pops, the most beloved local show-biz couple there was. Or, for a time at least, in the '80s-90s when they seemed to be the ideal celebrity pair, best friends as well as husband and wife, whose rapport translated to a warm, easygoing intimacy before the TV cameras that legions of fans adored and thrilled to. I'm not sure where this clip is from--Penthouse Live?--but it sure brings back the heyday of those long-ago years. He was one of the two biggest-selling male musical artists in the country (the other being Gary Valenciano), and she, while a middling singer, carved a name for herself as an engaging, classy TV host. Together, they were Martin-Pops, or Pops-Martin, no surnames needed. Here, shaggy hair and all, Martin already has his mannerisms down pat. But Pops--my gulay, how she looked then.

The Love Yourself Cafe--it's back!

2012-01-31T03:07:00.000+08:00

Join this exclusive, discreet, yet fun event happening in the love month of February! We'll talk about friendship and love among people like us. This is a by-invitation event, so register now so you can be considered in the selection process.

[Today's the last day to register--here.]

If love is a tree--sturdy, beautiful, fruitful, and teeming with rich, energetic life--then friendship is its roots. Where there is love, there is friendship; just as the roots are to the tree, friendship to love is that which sustains, grounds, and strengthens. So in, February, traditionally the month when we celebrate love, we zero in on its fundamental, animating principle: Friendship, specifically among men who like men.

Migs the Manila Gay Guy and the Love Yourself organization thus bring you, once again, the Love Yourself Cafe. It’s a safe place for casual conversations on topics that dare, with people who care to question and share. Our topic for the cafe is:

Friendship & Love Among Men
February 11, 2012, Saturday
6 to 9 PM

While this is a relaxed and fun environment, privacy and confidentiality are taken very seriously. Attendance is strictly by invitation. To ensure privacy of all attendees, venue details shall be sent only to the invited participants.

Travel Time, The Magazine welcomes Year of the Dragon with Dragon Lore issue

2012-01-31T02:57:00.002+08:00

Susan Calo Medina’s Travel Time, The Magazine welcomes the Year of the Dragon with its first issue for 2012 carrying the theme "Dragon Lore."

The January to March 2012 issue is packed with articles on major and emerging destinations, travel tips, people, and culture. On the cover is Wushu World Champion Mark Robert Rosales carrying a dragon head from the Ling Nam Athletic Federation. This issue features articles from prominent Tsinoys such as Teresita Ang-See, Meah Ang-See and Doreen Yu. It also carries articles from former DOH Secretary Jaime Galvez-Tan and director Floy Quintos.

The cover story is "My Downtown" by Doreen Yu, who takes readers around the streets of Binondo to share favorite places from her childhood.

In "The Sugarland Express" (Detour), Ricky Lopez also talks about his tours of Negros Occidental and finds out that there is so much more to the province than its title as the Sugar Capital of the Philippines. Meanwhile, in "Suroy Suroy Sugbo" (Special Feature), Maridol Ranoa Bismark tours 22 towns in three days and watches the whole of Cebu come alive during the Suroy Suroy Sugbo festivities. Celina Cruz and Lala Dimaano, for their part, enjoy a whole day of eating with only P100 in "A Diliman Food Trip" (Quick and Easy).

Meah Ang-See opens the doors of Bahay Tsinoy and takes us on a tour to see the story of Tsinoy generations in "Scenes from a Tsinoy Past" (Soul). In "The Inconvenient Truth About Water" (Travel Green), Olivia la O’ Castillo of the United Nations Advisory Board on Water and Sanitation shares some points on the conservation of water.

Readers are in for an drenaline rush while reading "My Kayak and Me" (Thrill), written by Buzzy Budlong, who kayaks his way around the Philippine islands in 88 days. Walter Ang, on the other hand, tours Barcelona and discovers the Gaudi beneath the gaudy in the article "Gaudy! Gaudi! Go!" (Letters From Abroad).

And in "From Niño to Nazareno" (Folio), Floy Quintos sees the depth of our devotion to Senyor Santo Niño and the Nazareno in dramatic images captured by various photographers.

Celebrate the Chinese New Year with features such as "Enter the Dragon" (Astral Travel) by Walter Ang, and find out what the Dragon has in store for you in 2012; in "Here, There and Everywhere" (Dossier), Teresita Ang-See shares the journey of Tsinoys in the Philippines.

Learn some tips on how to attract positive energy from Feng Shui expert Francis Gaw in "It’s All About Balance" (Savvy); find out which charms will bring you health and good luck in "Stoned!" (Market). And in "The Best of Traditional Chinese Medicine" (Whole), former DOH Secretary Jaime Galvez Tan ticks off the most effective Chinese treatments, while Jin Perez welcomes the Chinese New Year with some all-time favorites in "Beyond Basic Chinese" (Flavors).

DOT Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr. talks about what’s in store for Philippine tourism in 2012 in "A Golden Era Begins" (Memo). Also, let’s celebrate heirloom cuisine in Silay City’s 14th Adobo Festival in "Adobo (r)evolution" (Flavors); read "A Fair Affair" (By Demand) and make Valentine’s Day extra special and extra equitable with the recommended His and Hers activities.

Finally, Tita Susan talks about her Chinese roots in "My Chinese Connection" (Travels With My Aunt).

Susan Calo Medina’s Travel Time, The Magazine, retails for only P125 and is available in Powerbooks, Fully Booked, Wilcon Builder’s Depot, National Bookstore and other major bookstores and magazine outlets nationwide. It is distributed by Emerald Headway Distributors, Inc. Grab your copy now!

For subscriptions, call Louise Lim 0917-5696554. For editorial inquiries, Lala Dimaano 0917-5696315 or Celina Cruz 0917-8480831.

An open letter to Filipino gays, bisexuals and transgenders

2012-01-28T07:16:00.000+08:00

From Jonas Bagas. Please take the time to read. This is important.

A growing HIV epidemic is threatening our community.

I do not intend to pit HIV against other equally legitimate LGBT issues, such as same sex marriage or CBCP’s bigotry. But the epidemic demands our urgent action and our immediate attention . We need to act because no one else will until we do; we need to care because our solidarity and compassion are most needed now.

HIV is largely a hidden epidemic, and its scope will remain invisible until people undergo voluntary HIV testing and counseling. But the numbers that we are seeing are enough to give us a picture of what’s happening: more and more Filipino gays, bisexuals, other males who have sex with males (MSM), and transgenders (TGs) are getting infected with HIV. The prevalence has already reached more than 2% for our community, according to a survey that was done early 2011, though it is much higher in NCR, Cebu and Davao. 205 out of the 268 new cases that were reported last December – the highest in history – were due to unprotected male-to-male sex. That’s 7 new HIV cases a day that could be attributed to unprotected male-to-male sex. One could crudely assume that at least 7 MSM and TGs get infected everyday. (Download the December 2011 HIV and AIDS Registry)

Cold facts, but it doesn’t become real until it becomes personal. 2011 for me started with a number of friends getting tested positive. 2012 began with a news that a friend died months earlier, the circumstances pointing to an illness that cannot be named. He was the sixth person that I know who died because of AIDS-related diseases last year, the third in his own barkada. His was yet another case of late diagnosis. Like his other friends, once he started getting sick he simply disappeared and hid in his province. Within the community you’d hear nervous murmurings of friends or friends of friends who succumbed to the illness, their deaths swallowed by stigma and silence.

Yet we know that this shouldn’t be the case. HIV is preventable. There is no cure, but it is not a death sentence. I know that some of us feel uncomfortable talking about it, afraid that this would further discrimination and stigma. But our community is already stigmatized, and silence would only fuel the fear that has made it easy for the epidemic to fester. Silence would neither cure the stigma nor stop the virus.

Our best defense against the epidemic is our own community. We are, in a sense, each other’s family. While the love of our own family is irreplaceable, when love or understanding is difficult to find in our own homes, we find comfort and joy in the company of gay, bisexual, and transgender friends, from people like us, from our lesbian friends, from wonderful women – and men- in our midst. We are fellow travelers, our kinship strengthened by the reality that the journeys that we take are oftentimes not understood by many.

We take pride in our own resilience and strength – how we’ve confronted bullying in schools by striving to excel, how we’ve used our wit and diversity for our unique creations. We are brothers and sisters in this regard. We are known to fight back, to keep our heads high even when we’re deeply wounded, even when we feel alone.

But now we need that strength to care for each other. We actually know how we can stop the virus. We know that most cases are due to unprotected sex, and thus we need to teach ourselves how to practice safer sex. We know that treatment can save lives, and therefore knowing your status is important before it’s too late. We know that when necessary – and it will reach that point – those who have tested positive should get into treatment and other services that they would need for their entire lifetime.

Fear, however, oftentimes trumps evidence. Fear has gripped the lives of those who suddenly found the virus in their midst – there are those who feel that they lost their lust for life after knowing their status, that dark denial of life. I can never approximate how hard and how life-changing it must be to be HIV positive, but I am constantly inspired by stories from poz friends who affirm that life goes on, that life actually gets better, and that there are ways to make it better.

There will always be those who’d peddle fear as the solution to HIV, and we must be one in rejecting their doctrine. They would blame us, point to our ‘lifestyle’, and deny our existence: they would claim that their religion of fear is the only way to stop HIV. But we know what works and what doesn’t, and fear would only create the climate that would make it easy for the epidemic to explode.

Fear undermines our capacity to fight back. It creates an illusion, a source of false comfort for some, that this is a battle between those who are positive and those who are negative when in truth this is between us and the epidemic. We are actually all living with HIV. The sooner we realize that, the sooner we’d discover that with our collective strength, with our imagination and vast capacity for laughter, we shall prevail.

PLUS: Scared to take the test? If it could be of any help--here's how I went through it.

'If La Sallites can't read, Ateneans can't count'

2012-01-27T06:24:00.003+08:00

That's the joke the venerable Larry Henares lobbed at the post-show Q&A of Rivalry: Ateneo-La Salle The Musical, the new musical production (music by Ed Gatchalian, lyrics by Joel Trinidad, book and direction by Jaime del Mundo) on the long-standing girian between the two schools that had its press preview last night at the Meralco Theater. (They're now called La Sallians, said Ed Gatchalian, but in 1968, which is the setting of the musical, the guys from Taft were still called La Sallites. And the girls they ran after, in competition with the Ateneans, were usually from Maryknoll, now Miriam College.)

My own first impressions of the show? These two tweets for now: 1) fun and quite inspired, a cause for revelry and good old-fashioned cheering in the theater. Mamma Mia? try the new homegrown musical, RIVALRY. 2) dear god, please keep NOEL TRINIDAD spry, healthy and able to do theater for many, many more years. what a joy he is in it. The bonhomie achieved by the show carried over to the Q&A. Here, a peek at that aftermath:

"Rivalry" runs January 27-March 11 at the Meralco Theater, with 8 p.m. shows every Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and 3 p.m. shows on Saturdays and Sundays. Tickets are available from TicketWorld (8919999) or Meralco Theater.

Regine The Kraken 2

2012-01-26T03:09:00.004+08:00

New! Light of a Million Mornings--by way of her mind-scrambling, nosebleed-inducing vocal calisthenics. Previous to this, another hurricane number, Go The Distance. Halimaw siya.

Spotlight Artists Centre to revive Katy!, holds auditions Jan. 29

2012-01-24T06:39:00.005+08:00

From Oliver Oliveros:

Ryan Cayabyab (music) and Jose Javier Reyes’ (book and lyrics) hugely successful original Filipino musical, “Katy!”, a musical based on the life and times of the “Queen of Philippine Jazz” Katy dela Cruz (1907-2004), is making its way back to the stage this year.

Acclaimed theater and recording artists-cum-performance teachers Isay Alvarez, Robert Seña, and Tricia Amper Jimenez’s Spotlight Artists Centre is reviving the musical, which premiered at the now-defunct Rizal Theater in 1989, and later transferred to the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Originally produced by Celeste Legaspi and Girlie Rodis, “Katy!” starred Mitch Valdez, Legaspi, Bernardo Bernardo and Marco Sison, directed by Nestor Torre.

Auditions for major roles, like Katy (25-40 years old); male lead (25-40 years old); and young Katy’s father (45-55 years old) will be held on Sunday, January 29.

Auditionees should prepare a song from the musical like “Minsan Ang Minahal Ay Ako,” “Sari-Saring Babae,” “Balut,” etc. or a jazz song. Call Yssa at (632)899-8089 or (63)922-8986644 for more information and registration requirements.

Inquirer editor in chief Letty Jimenez Magsanoc, in 1989 still writing a column for the paper, said of Katy! that its makers had succeeded in creating “the prototype for the Filipino musical.”

Well, 23 years after it had its premiere, the legendary musical will be back this year, thanks to the triumvirate of Robert Sena, Isay Alvarez and Tricia Amper-Jimenez, who last year also revived another landmark Filipino musical, Magsimula Ka. This early, thank you to Robert, Isay and Tricia's Spotlight Artists Centre for the effort to bring back the musical that, among other things, launched Ryan Cayabyab on the hugely consequential musical-theater phase of his career; was the inaugural offering of Celeste Legaspi and Girlie Rodis' now shuttered theater company Musical Theater Philippines (Musicat--a unique undertaking in that it was the only local theater company exclusively dedicated to commissioning and mounting original Filipino musical material); enriched the Pinoy songbook with classics like Minsan ang Minahal Ay Ako; and paid due tribute to Katy dela Cruz and the long-lost bodabil era she embodied.

For a peek at the music, spunk and spirit of Katy! you can check out this fully orchestrated, handsomely mounted excerpt from the Ryan Cayabyab: Music Man at 50 concert, which I had uploaded previously...

Or the video below, debuting on YouTube with this post--a piano-accompanied (by Mr. C himself) medley of three songs from the musical: Pahiram Ng Kanta (performed by Tex Ordonex), Sari-Saring Babae (Isay Alvarez, Pinky Marquez, May Bayot and Roy Rolloda) and Minsan Ang Minahal Ay Ako (Celeste Legaspi and Mitch Valdes in a rare joint appearance, and the entire cast of Buhay!, the culminating concert of the 2004 National Theater Festival held at the main theater of the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Among the other performers: Robert Sena, Nonie Buencamino, Lou Veloso, Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo, Sam Concepcion, Cathy Azanza-Dy, Noel Rayos, Jon Joven, Eugene Villaluz, and, as part of the ensemble, Melanie Dujunco, Angeli Bayani, Nazer Salcedo, Bong Embile, et al.)

New year, new Fabcast!

2012-01-23T03:46:00.000+08:00

All impromptu kuno, from the agreement to meet up on New Year's Day, to the prior invite on Twitter to send in questions or topics for discussion. Lots came in, so this is only part 1. Podcasting? Naman, it's more fun in da Philippines!

Download this fabcast (right click and save)

Music credits:
Firework by Katy Perry
Ask by The Smiths

Hit comedy Leading Ladies is Rep's next offering

2012-01-23T03:34:00.000+08:00

Repertory Philippines presents its second offering for 2012--the hit comedy “Leading Ladies”, written by Ken Ludwig. The show runs February 10-March 4, 2012, with shows on Fridays and Saturdays, 8 p.m., and matinee shows on Saturdays and Sundays, 3:30 p.m., at Onstage, Greenbelt 1, Makati City.

Headlining “Leading Ladies” are James Stacey as Leo and Topper Fabregas as Jack. Supporting them are Cris Villonco as Meg, Giannina Ocampo as Audrey, Jamie Wilson as Duncan, Juno Henares as Florence, Hans Eckstein as Butch and Oliver Usison as Doc. Directing the show is Michael Williams.

“Leading Ladies” is about Leo and Jack, two British actors whose careers are so far on the skids that they’re performing “Scenes from Shakespeare” on the Moose Lodge circuit in Pennsylvania’s Amish country. They think their luck might change, however, when they hear about Florence, an old lady in a nearby town who is about to die and leave a considerable legacy to her nephews from England. Leo convinces Jack that they should impersonate the heirs. Their foolproof plan hits a snag, though, when they arrive on the scene and realize the woman’s long-lost relatives are nieces and not nephews.

Playwright Ken Ludwig has won numerous awards and several Tony nominations for his work. His musical “Crazy For You” ran for five years on Broadway and four years in the West End, winning Tony, Olivier, Drama Desk and Helen Hayes Awards as Best Musical of the Year.

“Lend Me A Tenor” (produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber) has proven to be one of the most popular comedies of the past 25 years, winning two Tony Awards. Ludwig's work has also been translated into 16 languages and performed in more than 30 countries.

The artistic and creative team is led by Baby Barredo (artistic director), Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo (associate artistic director), John Batalla (lighting designer) and Denis Lagdameo (set designer).

The production staff includes Gidget Tolentino (production manager), Ayam Barredo (company manager), Dingdong Rosales (stage manager), Pol Roxas (sound technician), Pablito Salvador (lighting technician) and Adul Lasin (set execution and scenic artist). The marketing, sales and publicity group is led by Toots Tolentino (PR & publicity) with Rem Zamora and Oliver Usison (PR & publicity/marketing), Marie Talay and Rose Silva (marketing/sales) and Dave Fabros (photography).

For tickets, inquiries and other information, call Repertory Philippines 5716926 or 5714941, or email info@repertory.ph. Tickets are also available at 8919999 or www.ticketworld.com.ph.

Visit www.repertory.ph, subscribe to youtube.com/repertoryphils, add “Rep Phils” in Facebook. “Leading Ladies” is presented by special arrangement with the Samuel French Agency.

Regine The Kraken

2012-01-19T07:04:00.001+08:00

Singing Go the Distance, at the Ayala Foundation/ABS-CBN concert The Music of Dreams of many moons ago--The Songbird in all her vintage lung-busting glory. What follows this number is an even more insanely stratospheric Light of a Million Mornings--except my digitized copy of the original VHS recording has decided to go all glitchy right on that spot, so I'd have to have the tape transferred again to make sure the concert and that finale number are preserved. Enjoy this for now. Or rather, fasten your seatbelts...

From 9 Works Theatrical--You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, opening Feb. 11

2012-01-18T21:18:00.004+08:00

This coming February, 9 Works Theatrical brings to life the timeless characters from Charles M. Schulz’ popular comic strip “Peanuts” via the Tony award-winning musical, “You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown.” The musical runs February 11-March 3, 2012 at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium, RCBC Plaza Makati.

Based on the comic strip “Peanuts” by Charles M. Schulz, with book, music and lyrics by Charles Gesner, additional dialogue by Michael Mayer, additional music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa, original direction by Michael Mayer and originally produced in New York by Arthur Whitelaw and Gene Persson, “You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown” is a funny and heartwarming musical told through a series of recognizable vignettes that look into an average day in the life of Charlie Brown and draws from the richness and universality of their everyday situations--making it the perfect family musical that will surely resonate with audiences young and old.

Playing the role of Charlie Brown is 9 Works Theatrical’s Artistic Director Robbie Guevara who is currently being seen onstage as Uncle Max in Resorts World Manila's “The Sound of Music.” He is also an established director for the stage.

One of the country’s most versatile performing artists, Carla Guevara-Laforteza will be playing the role of the bossy and crabby Lucy. Carla was recently seen as Maureen Johnson in 9 Works Theatrical’s production of “Rent” and as the Sour Kangaroo in Repertory Philippines “Seussical.” In the ongoing “The Sound of Music” she plays Sister Berthe. She is currently under the management of Johnny Manahan of Star Magic.

Playing the role of Charlie Brown’s lovable dog Snoopy will be Lorenz Martinez, whose last appearance onstage was as Benjamin Coffin III in 9 Works Theatrical’s Rent.” He also plays Herr Zeller in “The Sound of Music.” He was the youngest to perform the role of the Engineer, in the Netherlands production of “Miss Saigon.”

Appearing in his first 9 Works Theatrical musical is singer-actor and TV personality Franco Laurel, who will play the blanket-toting Linus. His theater credits now include starring roles in “Rama at Sita,” Trumpets’ “Honk, The Ugly Duckling,” Dulaang UP's “St. Louis Loves Dem Filipinos: The Musical” and “Isang Panaginip na Fili,” Stages' “Joseph The Dreamer” and Rep's “Sweeney Todd.”

Alternating with Laurel as Linus in certain performances is Toff de Venecia, 9 Works Theatrical’s Marketing and PR Director, who was last seen in Rep’s “Mulan Jr.” His other acting credits include the “Emperor's New Clothes” and Disney’s “Aladdin Jr.”; and for Ateneo Blue Repertory--“Hope for the Flowers,” Bat Boy” and “High School Musical.”

Touted as GMA 7’s resident “Kuya” and foodie, Tonipet Gaba, is a three-time Star Awards winner for Best Children’s show host. His stage credits include essaying lead roles in “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” “Blood Brothers,” “Oliver,” “Jesus Christ Superstar” and “The Little Mermaid”. For this production, he will be playing the sensitive piano-playing Schroeder.

Playing Charlie Brown’s younger sister Sally is Sweet Plantado, who was the musical director for Vocals for 9 Works Theatrical’s “Sweet Charity”. Sweet is a performing-recording artist who is part of the Philippine premier vocal group The CompanY.

PLUS: Klasik--Kristin Chenoweth as Sally performing My New Philosophy, at the 1999 Tony awards.

Veteran actor Michael Williams is directing the show, with Toff de Venecia as assistant director, Joseph Tolentino as musical director-instrumentation), Sweet Plantado as musical director-vocals), Mio Infante as scenographer, Martin Esteva as lighting designer, Mio Infante and Twinkle Zamora to do the costumes, Richard Lazaro as photographer, Larry Palma as graphic designer and Deana Aquino in charge of choreography.

The production team is led by Santi Santamaria (executive producer), Anna Santamaria (company manager), Toff de Venecia (marketing and PR director), Jonjon Martin (PR manager), Pamela Imperial (production manager) and Jojo Amboy (stage manager).

“You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown” runs February 11-March 3, 2012 at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium, RCBC Plaza Makati. Friday shows at 8 p.m., Saturday at 3:30 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sunday at 3:30 p.m.

A limited number of performances are now available for fundraising and block-buying. For tickets and other inquiries, call 5575860, 5867105 or 0917-5545560, or email info@9workstheatrical.com.

“You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown” is produced by arrangement with, and the music and dialogue material furnished by TAMS-WITMARK MUSIC LIBRARY, INC., 560 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10022.

Lea Salonga's The Broadway Concert--outtake #1. Loverly!

2012-01-15T23:43:00.001+08:00

Finally, I got around to having my VHS copy of Lea Salonga: The Broadway Concert digitized. Why bother, since the concert is also on DVD? Because my VHS copy is a recording of the TV broadcast, which had a more complete line-up of songs. Specifically, three tracks--or make that two-and-a-half, since one song was more like a snippet--were left out in the DVD release. Here's the first one that didn't make the cut--Lea singing an enchanting Wouldn't It Be Loverly (from My Fair Lady), with Calvin Millado, Carlo Orosa and Michael De Mesa. May I brag? Until a few minutes ago, this wasn't on YouTube; you're seeing it here first. Loverly, eh?

Ariel Rivera, Leo Martinez lead new cast members of The Sound of Music, extended until Feb. 12

2012-01-15T23:11:00.003+08:00

Resorts World Manila’s sophomore production, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s "The Sound of Music," opened in October 2011 at the Newport Performing Arts Theater and was originally slated to end its run in December, but, due to insistent public demand, the musical has been extended to February 12, 2012.

For the extension, fresh new faces will put their own spin to the successful production. Stepping up to give life to Captain Von Trapp is award-winning singer, songwriter and actor Ariel Rivera. Ariel will serve as alternate for the role along with Audie Gemora and Jon Joven. Max Detweiller will be interpreted by veteran actor and comedian Leo Martinez, who alternates with Miguel Faustmann and Robbie Guevarra.

Other new faces include: Shiela Valderrama as Baroness Elsa Schraeder, alternating with Pinky Amador; Jenny Villegas in the role of the Mother Abbess, along with Pinky Marquez and Sheila Francisco; Michaela Bradshaw as the alternate Liesl to Tanya Manalang; and Fred Lo as Liesl’s love interest, Rolf, with Marvin Ong.

Jeremy Domingo will alternate the role of Herr Zeller with Lorenz Martinez. Katie Bradshaw will play Gretl, with Alexa Villaroel. For the nuns, Apple Chiu will alternate in the role of Sister Berthe with Carla Guevara and Jenny Villegas; Marielle Mamaclay plays Sister Margaretta with Pamela Imperial; and Arya Herrera is Sister Sophie with Maxine Sian and Jillian Pena. Lastly, sisters Rachel and Rebecca Coates will alternate Louisa.

Showdates are Friday (8 p.m.), Saturday (2 p.m. and 7 p.m.), and Sunday (2 p.m. and 7 p.m.). Tickets are available at the RWM Box Office, or at any Ticketworld outlets. For more information, visit www.rwmanila.com or call the RWM Tourist Hotline 632+8366333 or Ticketworld 632+8919999.

Cris Villonco, Joanna Ampil, Ariel Rivera, Leo Martinez, Audie Gemora and Jon Joven

Tanghalang Pilipino's four-play Eyeball: New Visions in Philippine Theater opens this weekend

2012-01-13T23:16:00.004+08:00

Tanghalang Pilipino, the resident drama company of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP), concludes its 25th Theater Season with “Eyeball: New Visions in Philippine Theater,” which opens today and runs for four weekends until Feb. 12, 2012 at the CCP Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino (Little Theater).

This production features four of the best plays from the Virgin Labfest, the yearly festival of new works for the theater. The select plays deal with the theme, “Searching” and tackle people's search for love, for lost family bonds, for noble ideals, for closure, and for missing loved ones.

The plays will be shown as two sets of twinbills. Set A includes Carlo Pacolor Garcia’s hilarious “Bakit Wala Nang Nagtatagpo sa Philcoa Oberpas,” directed by Riki Benedicto, and starring TP Actors Company members Jonathan Tadioan, Jelson Bay, Martha Comia, Marco Viaña and Gino Ramirez; and guest artists Pam Hundana and Carmina Capile.

In “Doc Resureccion: Gagamutin ang Bayan”, by Layeta Bucoy (directed by Tuxqs Rutaquio), features the performances of Riki Benedicto, Jonathan Tadioan, Rayna Reyes and Sherry Lara.

Set B is composed of plays directed by the exceptional director Chris Millado. In Reuel Molina Aguila’s bittersweet “Maliw,” showcases brilliant acting by Sherry Lara, Spanky Manikan and TP Actors Company scholar Regina de Vera.

“Isang Araw sa Karnabal” is Nick Pichay’s funny but poignant play about two former activists attempting to mend broken ties, played by Sheenly Gener and Yul Servo.

The creative team includes Eric Cruz for the new set designs, Katsch Catoy for the lighting design, and TJ Ramos for the soundscape.

Regular ticket price is P600, with student and senior citizen discounts. For ticket reservation, booking of special performances and other information, call the TP office 8323661, 0920-9535381 or 0928-5518645. Contact the CCP Box Office at 8323704 and Ticketworld at 8919999 for ticket inquiries.

PLUS: What I thought of three of the four plays during their original Virgin Labfest runs--

Jonathan Tadioan, Crispin Pineda and Riki Benedicto in the 2009 VL production of Layeta Bucoy's “Doc Resureccion, Gagamutin ang Bayan,” directed by Tuxqs Rutaquio

Doc Resureccion: Gagamutin ang Bayan. Layeta Bucoy’s “Doc Resureccion, Gagamutin ang Bayan,” was the Labfest standout, and, incidentally, the latest noteworthy collaboration between Bucoy as playwright and Tuxqs Rutaquio as director...

A well-off doctor is running for town mayor; his ne’er-do-well fisherman cousin, bearing the same surname, is paid by the incumbent in a cynical move to game the system by confusing voters and stealing votes away from the appealing upstart.

Now the doctor is back in the dump he had fled long ago, begging the cousin and his family to withdraw from the race. By implication, his starched good intentions, fancy catchphrases and improved station in life give him a greater right to the town’s seat of power than his cousin’s more dubious motivations.

That, in any case, appeared to be the scheme. Until the play, with its increasingly savage dialogue, took a shocking turn near the end, involving a fish hook and a ripped-out eyeball.

It was a blindsiding, nightmarish punctuation to Bucoy’s incrementally constructed image of a body politic corroded to the core by lifelong class inequalities and hatreds, stoked in turn for Machiavellian ends by shadowy puppeteers.

An unsparing vision, “Doc Resureccion” had the searing smell of truth—helped along by the strongest cast assembled for a Labfest entry this year, led by young actors Jonathan Tadioan and Riki Benedicto.

Skyzx Labastilla and Paolo O'Hara in “Isang Araw sa Karnabal,” directed by Chris Millado

Isang Araw sa Karnabal. Another festering political flashpoint, the unresolved disappearances of activists, got a sympathetic ear in two plays, Nicolas Pichay’s superb “Isang Araw sa Karnabal” and Reuel Molina Aguila’s affecting if talky “Maliw.”

Like “Doc Resureccion,” these plays were a reproach—subtle but unmistakable—of the poisonous political air that has seeped into and warped many lives and families in this country. There were no speeches to that effect, though. Only anguish, pained laughter, choked-back memories.

In “Isang Araw sa Karnabal,” expertly directed by Chris Millado and marvelously played by Skyzx Labastilla and Paolo O’Hara, Pichay sketched in precise, tragicomic strokes the dysfunctional interaction of two people scarred for good by their desaparecido experiences (the girl her father, the boy a brother).

General Palparan’s name was mentioned; he was never seen, but like a malevolent ghost, he and what he stood for was the inevitable ghoul at the end of the carnival tunnel, forever haunting the lives of these two characters.

Bembol Roco and Gigi Escalante in the 2009 VL production of Reuel Molina Aguila’s “Maliw,”

directed by Edna Vida Froilan

Maliw. A similar spectral presence spooked the otherwise placid household in “Maliw,” directed by Edna Vida Froilan. In the aftermath of a lost daughter’s 30th birthday, a husband and wife (Bembol Roco and Gigi Escalante) would finally confront, through tears and bitter hand-wringing, the void left by their daughter’s abduction years ago.

“Araw-araw may darating na sirena,” rued the mother, refusing to forget. By the play’s cathartic end, she would take the first tentative steps toward letting go and rejoining the land of the living.

Love, Loss, and What I Wore back for one weekend only, Jan. 20-22

2012-01-13T22:25:00.001+08:00

After the very successful July 2011 Asian premiere in Manila of "Love, Loss, and What I Wore," CTE Productions brings back the acclaimed off-Broadway hit, still with some of the best female artists in the scene today. The show January 20, 21 and 22 at the Carlos P. Romulo Auditorium, 4th Floor, RCBC Plaza, Ayala Avenue corner Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue, Makati City.

The January 2012 cast of "Love, Loss, and What I Wore" includes theater luminary and current Associate Artistic Director of Repertory Philippines Menchu Lauchengco-Yulo; veteran theater actress, writer and emerging director, Cathy Azaza-Dy; multi-talented actress, businesswoman and current treasurer of Repertory Philippines Liza Infante-Robinson; thespian and music sensation Bituin Escalante; and acclaimed classical vocalist and theater performer Jay Valencia-Glorioso.

The show is directed by the same tandem behind the hit show "Defending The Caveman," Michael Williams and Cathy Azanza-Dy.

The sensational Off-Broadway show "Love, Loss, and What I Wore," written by Nora Ephron ("When Harry Met Sally," "Sleepless in Seattle") and Delia Ephron ("The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants," "Hanging Up"), vividly recounts a selection of comic and heartwarming stories from different women who remember key moments in their lives through the clothes they wore.

The show is based on the bestselling book by Ilene Beckerman, and has featured notable actresses such as Jane Lynch, Rosie O'Donell, Brooke Shields, Betty White, Rita Wilson, Nikki Blonsky, Alexis Bledel, Fran Drescher, Alicia Silverstone, Jamie Lynn Siegler, to name just a few. The show has since then been staged in Los Angeles, Toronto, Buenos Aires, Mexico, Australia and Paris.

Shows are at 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, with Saturday and Sunday matinees at 3:30 p.m.

Tickets are available at Ticketworld 8919999, www.ticketworld.com.ph. Or call 2150788 or 0917-5378313, or email cteshows@gmail.com. P1,200 for orchestra center, P1,000 for orchestra side and loge, P500 for balcony. Like 'CTE Productions' on Facebook and follow @cteshows on twitter for more updates.

Severino Reyes' R.I.P. from Ateneo Entablado, until Jan. 21

2012-01-13T22:06:00.001+08:00

For its season finale, the Ateneo theater group ENTABLADO (ENterteynment para sa TAo, Bayan, LAnsangan at DiyOs) is staging Severino Reyes' “R.I.P.” with an “intermedio” from Francisco Balagtas' “La India Elegante y el Negrito Amante,” under the direction of Dr. Alvin Yapan, current chair of Ateneo De Manila’s Filipino department and also the director of the acclaimed films “Ang Panggagahasa Kay Fe” and “Ang Sayaw ng Dalawang Kaliwang Paa”.

The show, which opened Jan. 10, runs until 21 at the Rizal Mini Theater, Loyola Schools, Ateneo de Manila University.

Reyes is also the writer of “Mga Kuwento ni Lola Basyang,” while Francisco Baltazar aka Balagtas is the writer of the Philippine literature classic, “Florante at Laura”.

ENTABLADO reinterprets “R.I.P.” as a satire that tackles the transformation of the Philippine performing arts--about a theater group rehearsing for a performance while struggling against the rise of another art form. This story is framed by an “intermedio” that features the courtship of two clowns.

Music and sound design by Jema Pamintuan, Mike Coroza, Maynard De Guzman; set design by Richard De Guzman; costumes by Jean Pierre Reniva; lights design by Miyo Sta. Maria; and movement/choreography by Sergio Gahol.

Remaining show schedules: January 17, 18, 19, 20 (7:30 p.m.); January 14, 21 (2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.); January 21 (10:30 a.m.)

Ticket price P250. For tickets and inquiries, call Eric Estolatan 0906-4413838.

Ululations. More fun if they're Grace Nono's.

2012-01-11T03:34:00.000+08:00

Nagbabalik on YouTube--this (better-quality) clip, from the 2004 concert Ryan Cayabyab: Music Man at 50, held at the Main Theater of the Cultural Center of the Philippines. "Of an altogether different caliber was Grace Nono, who gave a spectacular rendition of 'Iduyan Mo.' Laced with strange, wondrous wails and ululations, the song became a priestess' clarion call to the elements--and further evidence of the elasticity and sophistication of Cayabyab's best material." [My words]